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Background: Haemolacria is a rare condition not previously associated with migraine with aura. We report the first such case and speculate as to a possible cause. Case: A 47 year old lady presented with repeated attacks of migraine with visual aura, ipsilateral sensory symptoms, and at times associated with ipsilateral haemolacria and significantly raised blood pressure. Neurological, ENT and ophthalmological assessments were unremarkable. MRI brain scan and laboratory investigations were normal. The haemolacria episodes recurredon removal of prophylaxis. Conclusion: This is the first reported case of haemolacria associated with migraine with aura. We speculate it has an autonomic basis and is also linked to hypertension.

The variance in fitness across population members can influence major evolutionary processes. In socially monogamous but genetically polygynandrous species extra pair paternity (EPP) is widely hypothesized to increase the variance in male fitness compared to that arising given the socially monogamous mating system. This hypothesis has not been definitively tested because comprehensive data describing males’ apparent (social) and realized (genetic) fitness have been lacking. We used 16 years of comprehensive social and genetic paternity data for an entire free living song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) population to quantify and compare variances in male apparent and realized fitness and to quantify the contribution of the variances in within pair reproductive success (WPRS) and extra pair reproductive success (EPRS) and their covariance to the variance in realized fitness. Overall EPP increased the variance in male fitness by only 0–27 across different fitness and variance measures. This relatively small effect reflected the presence of socially unpaired males with zero apparent and low realized fitness small covariance between WPRS and EPRS and large variance in WPRS that was relatively unaffected by EPP. Therefore although EPP altered individual males’ contributions to future generations its impact on population level parameters such as the opportunity for selection and effective population size was limited.

Comprehensive accurate paternity assignment is critical to answering numerous questions in evolutionary ecology. Yet most studies of species with extra pair paternity (EPP) fail to assign sires to all offspring. Common limitations include incomplete and biased sampling of offspring and males particularly with respect to male location and social status potentially biasing estimated patterns of paternity. Studies that achieve comprehensive sampling and paternity assignment are therefore required. Accordingly we genotyped virtually all males and >99 of 6 day old offspring over 16 years in a song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) population and used three complementary statistical methodologies to attempt complete paternity assignment for all 2207 offspring. Assignments were highly consistent across maximum likelihood methods that used solely genotype data and heuristic and integrated Bayesian analyses that included data describing individual locations. Sires were assigned to >99 of all genotyped offspring with ‡95 confidence revealing an EPP rate of c. 28. Extra pair sires primarily occupied territories neighbouring their extra pair offspring; spatial location was therefore highly informative for paternity assignment. EPP was biased towards paired territorial males although unpaired territorial and floater males sired c. 13 of extra pair offspring. Failing to sample and include unpaired males as candidate sires would therefore substantially reduce assignment rates. These analyses demonstrate the integration of genetic and ecological information to achieve comprehensive paternity assignment and direct biological insight illustrate the potential biases that common forms of incomplete sampling could have on estimated patterns of EPP and provide an essential basis for understanding the evolutionary causes and consequences of EPP.

Heterozygosity–fitness correlations use molecular measures of heterozygosity as proxy estimates of individual inbreeding coefficients (f) to examine relationships between inbreeding and fitness traits. Heterozygosity–fitness correlations partly depend on the assumption that individual heterozygosity and f are strongly and negatively correlated. Although theory predicts that this relationship will be strongest when mean f and variance in f are high few studies of heterozygosity–fitness correlations include estimates of f based on pedigrees which allow for more thorough examinations of the relationship between f heterozygosity and fitness in nature. We examined relationships between pedigree based estimates of f multilocus heterozygosity (MLH) and the probability of survival to hatch in song sparrow nestmates. f and MLH were weakly but significantly negatively correlated. Inbreeding coefficient predicted the probability of survival to hatch. In contrast MLH did not predict the probability of survival to hatch nor did it account for residual variation in survival to hatch after statistically controlling for the effects of f. These results are consistent with the expectation that heterozygosity–f correlations will be weak when mean and variance in f are low. Our results also provide empirical support for recent simulation studies which show that variation in MLH among siblings with equal f can be large and may obscure MLH–fitness relationships.

Understanding the magnitude and causes of genetic and phenotypic resemblance among relatives is key to understanding evo lutionary processes. Contrary to basic expectation individual coefficients of inbreeding (f) were recently hypothesized to be intrinsically correlated across parents and offspring in structured populations potentially creating an additional source of phe notypic resemblance in traits that show inbreeding depression. To test this hypothesis we used individual based simulations to quantify the parent–offspring correlations in f arising under random mating in populations of different size immigration rate and mating system. Parent–offspring correlations in f were typically positive (median r ˜ 0.2–0.4) in relatively small and isolated populations. Relatively inbred parents therefore produced relatively inbred offspring on average although the magnitude of this effect varied considerably among replicate populations. Correlations were higher given more generations of random mating greater variance in reproductive success polygynous rather than monogamous mating and for midparent–offspring rather than parent–offspring relationships. Furthermore f was also positively correlated across half siblings and closer relatives had more sim ilar inbreeding coefficients across entire generations. Such intrinsic resemblance in f among relatives could provide an additional genetic benefit of mate choice and bias quantitative genetic analyses that do not account for correlated inbreeding depression.

Some problems of cataract epidemiology are briefly reviewed. Studies of the incidence and prevalence of cataract, and of economic status, measure social need but cannot, by themselves, point to possible causes. Information on geographical or regional distributions and medical, clinical and occupational studies permit the formulation of socially, medically or experimentally testable hypotheses concerning specific contributory factors. We have found several such factors to be significantly associated with cataract; they appear to be risk factors. Some risk factors are associated with subclinical deviations from the range of normal concentrations of certain plasma constituents, whereas clinically or experimentally acute deviations are known to be rapidly cataractogenic. Other risk factors include medical conditions and certain drugs. Although individuals may have several risk factors, controls have significantly fewer than cataract patients of the same age. This difference in the number of risk factors is also age-related, as is the degree of divergence from the normal range in the concentrations of several plasma constituents.

After eight years of preparation, which took place before and during the Apollo-Moon space-flight series, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in May 1973 launched into orbit a cylinder 22 feet in diameter and 48 feet in length called the Skylab Orbital Workshop. The living quarters and storage area of this cylinder contained nearly all of the life support and scientific experimentation equipment and supplies for three separately launched three-man astronaut crews. The first crew remained in orbit for 28 days, the second for 60 days, and the last crew for 84 days.

The food system for Skylab represents the greatest advances yet for space flight. Menu development has been constrained by mechanical, nutritional, and organoleptic requirements which are described.

After eight years of preparation, which took place before and during the Apollo-Moon space-flight series, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in May 1973 launched into orbit a cylinder 22 feet in diameter and 48 feet in length called the Skylab Orbital Workshop. The living quarters and storage area of this cylinder contained nearly all of the life support and scientific experimentation equipment and supplies for three separately launched three-man astronaut crews. The first crew remained in orbit for 28 days, the second for 60 days, and the last crew for 84 days.